U19s finish off World Cup with loss to Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe 272/8 (Madhevere 93, Myers 46) beat Canada 134 (Gill 60; Madhevere 4/24) by 138 runs
Wesley Madhevere missed out on a hundred against Canada by seven runs, but set his team up to make a strong total of 272/8 on a tricky pitch, before taking four wickets to ensure Canada never got close.
Both games at Rangiora so far have been low-scoring thrillers, with PNG almost defending 121 and Kenya managing to defend 176, and perhaps only Madhevere’s innings and bowling ensured this wasn’t be another.
As his teammates struggled to score freely, he seemed to be playing almost on another surface as he struck eight boundaries on his way to 93 from 84 balls. Depsite getting bogged down, the other batsmen did manage to provide decent support, with Milton Shumba’s 18 the lowest score from among the top seven.
The eventual 273 target proved too tough for Canada, losing wickets regularly, with Akash Gill’s 60 the only significant act of resistance.
But they can still take credit from how they tied down Zimbabwe’s batsmen, Madhevere excepted. Aran Pathmanathan in particular was metronomic, claiming figures of 1/29 from his 10 overs.
The result meant that every game this tournament between a Full Member and an Associate was won by the Full Member. But with Canada the highest-placed of the Associates, having won two games and run Bangladesh close in a group game, they can take heart from how they performed.